A mortgage broker charged in a massive $66 million fraud scheme involving more than 100 properties pleaded guilty Monday in Manhattan Federal Court to a conspiracy charge that could put him behind bars for up to 10 years.
Prosecutors said Long Island mortgage broker Gerard Canino, 51, ran the scheme through his company First Class Equities with more than a dozen loan officers and lawyers.
Canino and the others were busted last August.
The properties were located in the city, Long Island, Westchester and Dutchess County. The houses were bought during the housing bubble and after it burst.
Prosecutors said the scheme involved straw buyers and phony loan applications and left a trail of defaulted mortgages and foreclosed homes.
Canino faces sentencing Sept. 17. He also agreed to forefeit the $66 million in fraudulently obtained loans.
